I felt much like a little bumble bee trying to probe deeply into this beautiful glass globe in Tim and Debbie's home on the weekend. If you look closely, the filament and bulb are buried, much like a real stamen and pistil. I couldn't help but wonder who the artist was who turned this glass, making such wonderful patterns along the edges.
I also enjoyed this fanciful pattern, over another lightbulb in the livingroom. It is not a question of just light, but featuring it in the most beautiful way, sending soft patterns up onto the ceiling and out into the room. The occasion was Tim and Debbie's monthly Devotional Meeting, which George and I enjoy attending.
Prayers, readings and music are offered, and I read this little card, which Debbie has prepared with a fanciful border. It's words offer good cheer and a positive spirit.

Cornelia and her little son sat next to me, and it was most enjoyable watching him play with a few toys while Tim told a story from the life of Baha'u'llah. He only scooted these animals around, never grabbing both for a growling match, teeth barred. He put a few of them into my hands, then took them out, never making a peep, never engaging them in a confrontation. Later, when I sat with him, he gave a big roar for the tiger, but tended to herd these animals in a little corral where they all huddled together. (I do not think this child has watched too many cartoons. Or, Animal Planet.)
Part of the Devotional Meeting is brunch, which includes waffles. Tim prepared the batter, and just about everyone crowds into the kitchen to watch him, or to turn the sausage, or to get a cup of coffee.
I huddled into a corner to stay out of the way, and greeted Emmy and Sam.
The table is set, and Tim brought out the waffles.

This is Sonja...she is my age, in her 60's. A few weeks ago I visited with her, and I told her to never to cut her hair, no matter how old she gets. It is just too beautiful, so soft and feathery, and I enjoy watching her twirl it in patterns around her head when she wants to keep it out of her face. There is something just so beautiful about swirling strands of hair, the texture, the movement.

I took about 150 photos on the weekend - Debbie urges me to continue to do this for the sake of Baha'i archives, but much to my disgust, the light was poor, and not much can be saved for archival value. George can mull through them and find something for his Baha'i Views, or to post on our Flickr account.

We attended Chris and Shadie's Fireside in Gig Harbor, bringing along our friend Walter. It was a small, intimate gathering as Shadie's father has recently passed away. She has gone down to New Zealand to be with her extended family.
Russ played music, Karen backed him up with some vocals - in fact, we all started to sing along.
I liked this image of Russ tuning his guitar. It reminds me of how 'the instrument must be tuned, stretched tightly, in order to play the music', and it was a good impression to think of when listening to the concepts presented at the Fireside.

Dr. Enayat Sobhani told us some stories of his life in Iran many years ago when the Baha'is were severely persecuted. As he told us one story after another, I couldn't help but notice that he laughed so hard at every story. As each predicament for the Baha'is in Iran intensified, he laughed harder and curled up into a ball, from which he'd uncurl long enough to catch his breath, uncurl for the next dramatic story, then proceed on with more frightening details. Various family members were imprisoned for their Faith, some killed, and yet here he was in America, retelling every detail of those days long ago. His eyes would squint and brim. He'd hold his arms around himself and rock and sway, as if these were bedtime stories he'd heard from his own parents as a child. Perhaps they were. I just know that they were placed on strong pillars in his memory, unshakable, never to be forgotten.

I enjoyed Dr. Sobhani's humor, his laughter. He seemed immune to the cultivation of animosity, of trashing others, with even so much as a whisper. He'd just say, with his face sobering into a careful stillness, that yes, these things happened, to his family long ago.

(Child of Africa has a post relating to current treatment of the Baha'is in Iran, particularly in regard to accessing higher education, of which Baha'i youth are denied access. She writes: " The Baha'is have established the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education so that Baha'i youth can have access to education offered by faculty members around the world." The BIHE is a creative and peaceful response to this type of persecution in Iran.)